Casey Anthony jurors: What life was like for 17 sequestered in murder trial

Jurors had limited access to TV, Internet during the trial, court spokeswoman says.

July 9, 2011|By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

For weeks, their lives were shrouded in mystery. Referred to by number and kept under close watch, 12 jurors and five alternates were transplanted to Orlando for the high-profile murder trial of Casey Anthony.

Days after the verdict, court spokeswoman Karen Levey shed some light on the day-to-day existence of a sequestered jury, and the burden of keeping 17 people from being influenced by a trial-fixated public.

And it wasn't easy, Levey said. In a world where Casey Anthony was on every television screen and newspaper, 17 people had to live their lives for weeks without hearing a word of commentary.

Even their most mundane needs — shopping, laundry and medical concerns, to name a few — presented unique problems. "Imagine planning for 17 people that you don't know," Levey said.

The jurors in the Casey Anthony trial live in Pinellas County, but from late May to last week the Rosen Shingle Creek was their home away from home.

Each juror had a separate room at the hotel, Levey said, and access to a shared common room they called the "parlor room." They typically ate two of their three daily meals at the hotel.

The jurors lived under the watchful eye of Orange County deputies, who monitored them and transported them everywhere they went. They watched them as jurors made calls, used the Web and met with family.

"The Orange County Sheriff's Office was responsible for the security of these sequestered jurors," Levey said. "They were the only ones who came in contact with these jurors."

Outside of court, Levey said the jurors spent their time with only themselves and Orange deputies for company. Their family was allowed to visit briefly on Sunday afternoons.

Levey said the jurors were allowed to have cell phones, but they were kept in the custody of deputies, who monitored phone calls as well as the limited internet access jurors were allowed.

But jurors weren't exactly allowed to surf the Web, or to use the internet for entertainment, Levey said. In fact, finding any entertainment at all for the 17 men and women was problematic.

Each juror had a television, and the hotel limited access to channels that wouldn't make any reference to the trial. The 25 to 30 channels initially approved included ESPN and Cartoon Network, Levey said.

But as interest in the case grew, cross-promotions became a problem. "On Cartoon Network, a blurb would come up about the Casey Anthony trial," Levey said.

Ultimately, all but three channels were blocked, two of them shopping channels. Levey said jurors looking for something else to watch had access to pre-approved DVDs, some of them brought by family.

Speculation surrounded everything about the trial, and the jury was no exception. Levey said rumors of jury trips to local attractions were false. "They never went to a theme park," she said.

They did, however, make occasional trips to the movies — catching showings of "Green Lantern," "Hangover II" and "Super 8" — as well as local restaurants, like Olive Garden and Houlihan's.

On a normal day, jurors had a typical hotel breakfast at Rosen Shingle Creek, fast food or sandwiches delivered to the courthouse for lunch, then an agreed-upon meal delivered to the hotel.

Levey said state statute strictly governed the jurors options, dictating a $6 limit for breakfast, $11 for lunch and $19 for dinner. Officials prepared special menus when jurors were taken to restaurants.

Even doing laundry was complicated. Levey said the Orange County Clerk of Courts agreed to provide $14 per week in quarters, and deputies shepherded jurors a few at a time to the hotel's facilities.

Levey said every contingency had to be planned; no jurors had any medical problems, but one needed a dentist, and hair cuts were problematic. Shopping for themselves was out of the question.

"They can't be exposed to magazines or newspapers — or the public," Levey said. "The purpose of sequestration in this case was to keep outside influences from coming in."

As closely as they were watched, Levey said the court ultimately had to trust the jurors to follow the frequent admonitions they were given by Judge Belvin Perry each day.

"There's a certain amount of trust with any jury," Levey said. "You have to trust these people."

The jury acquitted Anthony, 25, in the killing of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. She was convicted on four misdemeanor counts of lying to law enforcement, and is expected to be released from jail July 17.